Sanirajak
History
It was established in 1957 during the construction of a Distant Early Warning (DEW) site. Currently the settlement is home to a North Warning System (68°45′44″N 081°13′44″W / 68.76222°N 81.22889°W) radar facility and the Hall Beach Airport.
In 1971, seven sounding rockets of the Tomahawk Sandia type were launched from Sanirajak, some reaching altitudes of 270 km (170 mi).
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 287 | — |
| 1981 | 349 | +21.6% |
| 1986 | 451 | +29.2% |
| 1991 | 526 | +16.6% |
| 1996 | 543 | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 609 | +12.2% |
| 2006 | 654 | +7.4% |
| 2011 | 736 | +12.5% |
| 2016 | 848 | +15.2% |
| 2021 | 891 | +5.1% |
| Source: Statistics Canada | ||
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Sanirajak (Hall Beach) had a population of 891 living in 197 of its 205 total private dwellings, a change of 5.1% from its 2016 population of 848. With a land area of 16.36 km (6.32 sq mi), it had a population density of 54.5/km (141.1/sq mi) in 2021.
Geography
Climate
Sanirajak has a tundra climate (Köppen: ETf), a polar climate sub-type under the Köppen climate classification, without the presence of trees, and iced over for most of the year. Summers are very short and cool, with chilly nights. Winters are long and extremely cold, lasting most of the year with little chance of a thaw.
| Climate data for Sanirajak (Hall Beach Airport) WMO ID: 71081; coordinates 68°46′33″N 81°14′33″W / 68.77583°N 81.24250°W; elevation: 9.1 m (30 ft); 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1957−present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 0.0 | 0.4 | −0.6 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 21.1 | 27.9 | 28.0 | 14.0 | 4.3 | 0.3 | −0.9 | 28.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
24.8 (76.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
4.2 (39.6) |
0.6 (33.1) |
0.4 (32.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −26.7 (−16.1) |
−27.9 (−18.2) |
−23.5 (−10.3) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
10.2 (50.4) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.3 (36.1) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −30.7 (−23.3) |
−31.8 (−25.2) |
−28.1 (−18.6) |
−19.0 (−2.2) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
1.2 (34.2) |
6.9 (44.4) |
5.6 (42.1) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−18.3 (−0.9) |
−25.1 (−13.2) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −34.6 (−30.3) |
−35.7 (−32.3) |
−32.6 (−26.7) |
−23.8 (−10.8) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
3.5 (38.3) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−22.4 (−8.3) |
−29.1 (−20.4) |
−16.3 (2.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −50.0 (−58.0) |
−54.1 (−65.4) |
−52.5 (−62.5) |
−44.1 (−47.4) |
−31.1 (−24.0) |
−20.6 (−5.1) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−16.7 (1.9) |
−33.6 (−28.5) |
−42.2 (−44.0) |
−53.9 (−65.0) |
−54.1 (−65.4) |
| Record low wind chill | −72.8 | −71.7 | −66.6 | −58.0 | −44.7 | −32.7 | −7.8 | −11.7 | −25.1 | −49.6 | −61.4 | −64.6 | −72.8 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 6.1 (0.24) |
5.9 (0.23) |
8.2 (0.32) |
11.6 (0.46) |
15.6 (0.61) |
18.2 (0.72) |
21.7 (0.85) |
38.4 (1.51) |
30.9 (1.22) |
27.1 (1.07) |
16.1 (0.63) |
9.6 (0.38) |
209.3 (8.24) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.6 (0.10) |
14.5 (0.57) |
22.2 (0.87) |
40.5 (1.59) |
17.9 (0.70) |
2.3 (0.09) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.00) |
100.2 (3.94) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 10.4 (4.1) |
8.9 (3.5) |
12.2 (4.8) |
18.2 (7.2) |
16.5 (6.5) |
10.0 (3.9) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.9 (0.7) |
12.4 (4.9) |
33.3 (13.1) |
25.4 (10.0) |
14.3 (5.6) |
163.3 (64.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 8.4 | 6.9 | 8.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.3 | 10.9 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 15.8 | 12.4 | 10.0 | 127.4 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.05 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.14 | 1.1 | 7.3 | 10.6 | 12.8 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 0.17 | 0.35 | 40.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 9.7 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 10.7 | 9.6 | 5.2 | 0.05 | 0.95 | 6.6 | 15.2 | 13.7 | 11.0 | 98.3 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) (at 3pm) | 68.7 | 68.3 | 70.6 | 76.4 | 84.1 | 87.7 | 80.0 | 81.9 | 84.5 | 87.8 | 80.0 | 73.3 | 78.6 |
| Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada | |||||||||||||